Safety lock for cabinet doors and the like

ABSTRACT

A device easily attachable at the bottom edge of a cabinet door keeps the door locked. A push upward by the toe of a foot or by the hand, simultaneously pulling on the door handle, releases the door. The door relocks automatically on closing.

United States atent [191 Core [ Mar. 18, 1975 SAFETY LOCK FOR CABINET DOORS AND THE LIKE [76] Inventor: William Roger Core, 1610 E. 55th PL, Tulsa, Okla. 74105 [221 Filed: Feb. 23, 1973 21 1 Appl.No.:335,244

[52] u.s.c|. .j ..292/67, 292/337 [51] Int.Cl. ..E05c5/00 [58] Field of Search 292/63, 64, 67

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,203,333 6/1940 Klumpp 292/67 2,507,391 5/1950 Willett et a1. 292/67 Primary Examiner-Albert G. Craig, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT A device easily attachable at the bottom. edge of a cabinet door keeps the door locked. A push upward -by the toe of a foot or by the hand, simultaneously pulling on the door handle, releases the door. The door relocks automatically on closing.

2 Claims 4'Drawing Figures It l SAFETY LOCK FOR CABINET DOORS AND THE LIKE This invention relates to locks, more particularly to locks used in cabinet work.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a means for keeping a cabinet door closed against swinging, accidental opening and opening by children. The device utilizes a tee-bar set into a housing that does not permit the bar to turn in its rest position. Raising the tee-bar permits it to turn and free the cabinet door held behind it. The long leg of the inverted tee is against the door. The cross-bar of the tee serves as a resting support and a lifting bar.

Another object of this invention is to provide a lock of the type described that allows for adjustment in order to accommodate cabinets of varied construction.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a lock that is simple in construction, foolproof, easy to install, is rugged and yet low in cost.

These and other objects will become readily evident upon a study of the following specification together with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, partially in section, showing the lock installed and holding a door closed. Alternate operative positions are shown in dottedoutline;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tee-bar component;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the mounting block;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tee-bar retaining block.

The present invention primarily is a protection for young children. Objects that should not fall into a childs hand but should be readily available to an adult may be kept safely for as long as desired without marring or damaging the finish on the cabinet. The child will not notice the parent using the toe of a foot while pulling open the bar handle. Even when becoming aware of this action, the child will not coordinate the lifting action with the pull on the door required in unison. Generally, by the time the child is old enough to coordinate this action, the harmful objects may be removed or a warning is given to the child.

Referring to the figures, the lock comprises a teebar 11, a mounting block 12 and a tee-bar retaining block 13.

Tee-bar 11 is fabricated with a plate 18 and a crossing member extending on one side 19 and on the other side 20 of plate 18. Approximately at the joining edge with plate 18, portion 20 is rounded as shown at 21. The face 22 of plate 18 comes into contact with the cabinet door as will be shown. For this purpose, surface 22 may be protected by felt or the like.

Mounting block 12 showshorizontal mounting face 23 and vertical mounting face 24. The front face 25 is provided by two or more pairs of mounting holes 26.

Tee-bar retaining block 13 shows a rear mounting face 27, a multiplicity of mounting hole pairs 28, a lower rest block 29 having a supporting surface 30, a straight channel 31 opening out into an arcuate portion 32 and a support 33 for tee-bar 11 when the cabinet is open. An opening 34 receives portion 20 slideably between the rest position and the operative position of tee-bar 11. j

A cabinet 14 shows a toe space beneath and behind the door 15 as indicated by rear wall 16 and bottom wall 17. In installation, block 12 is secured to cabinet 14 by cementing or otherwise attaching face 23 to face l7 and face 24 to face 16. Screws or bolts (not shown) are passed through a suitable pair of holes 28 into holes 26 with tee-bar 11 supported inside retaining box 13 so that portion 19 rests on area 30. The assembly then takes on the configuration of the solid outline shown in FIG. 1. Inspection of the figure will show that upward movement of portion 20, as indicated by the arrow, allows the arcuate areas 21 to pass into arcuate areas 32 thereby permitting the tee-bar to turn as door 15 is opened as indicated by the arrow. Plate 22 then remains in the horizontal position until the closing action of door 15 strikes portion 19 and returns the tee bar to its original vertical position from which it drops down to the locked position of FIG. 1.

What I claim is:

1. A lock for cabinet doors comprising a mounting block, a tee-bar, and a tee-bar retaining block, said combination when attached at the lower edge of a cabinet door holding said tee-bar in inverted configuration secured against rotation perpendicular thereto until said tee-bar is raised in said retaining block by the toe or hand wherein an arcuate opening in said retaining block permits said tee-bar to rotate in response to urging the cabinet door open, said tee-bar then retained in a position away while said door is open, said door during the process of closing bearing against the now vertical cross-bar portion causing said tee-bar to turn back to the vertical and fall to the starting, nonrotatable configuration.

2. A lock according to claim 1 wherein attachment between said mounting block and said retaining block is adjustable by providing a multiplicity of mounting holes for fastening screws. 

1. A lock for cabinet doors comprising a mounting block, a tee-bar, and a tee-bar retaining block, said combination when attached at the lower edge of a cabinet door holding said tee-bar in inverted configuration secured against rotation perpendicular thereto until said tee-bar is raised in said retaining block by the toe or hand wherein an arcuate opening in said retaining block permits said tee-bar to rotate in response to urging the cabinet door open, said tee-bar then retained in a position 90* away while said door is open, said door during the process of closing bearing against the now vertical cross-bar portion causing said tee-bar to turn back to the vertical and fall to the starting, non-rotatable configuration.
 2. A lock according to claim 1 wherein attachment between said mounting block and said retaining block is adjustable by providing a multiplicity of mounting holes for fastening screws. 